# Best of the Rest of the Top 40: 2004 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812 "2015-04-04T17:01:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/1 "2015-04-04T17:01:33Z")
Sorry it took an extra day to get to this one. Going over this list was not a lot of fun. I won’t sugarcoat it - IMO, 2002-2005 is the nadir of American pop music, and there aren’t a lot of great songs in this list, but the good news is it only gets better from here. The year is 2004. There are 30 songs in this set. What’s your favorite? Previous polls: [1956](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744629) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744819) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744978) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745151) [1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745331) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745525) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745733) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745956) [1964](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=746118) [1965](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=746342) [1966](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=746498) [1967](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=746735) [1968](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=746932) [1969](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747152) [1970](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747345) [1971](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747517) [1972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747737) [1973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747976) [1974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=748145) [1975](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=748360) [1976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=748527) [1977](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=748653) [1978](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=748866) [1979](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=749060) [1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=749217) [1981](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=749398) [1982](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=749610) [1983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=749795) [1984](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=749949) [1985](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750154) [1986](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750299) [1987](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750488) [1988](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750641) [1989](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750845) [1990](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751015) [1991](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751202) [1992](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751368) [1993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751517) [1994](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751667) [1995](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751834) [1996](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751992) [1997](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=752188) [1998](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=752421) [1999](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=752566) [2000](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=752753) [2001](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=752944) [2002](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=753086) [2003](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=753228) Best #1 single polls: [1955-56](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731649) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731871) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732021) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732199)[1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732526) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732691) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732872) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733112) [1964](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733297) [1965](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733526) [1966](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733750) [1967](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733958) [1968](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734168) [1969](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734331) [1970](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734535) [1971](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734741) [1972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735107) [1973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735304) [1974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735502) [1975](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735659) [1976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735871) [1977](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736076) [1978](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736316) [1979](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736501) [1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736705) [1981](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736957) [1982](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737099) [1983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737315) [1984](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737488) [1985](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737732) [1986](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737957) [1987](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738178) [1988](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738403) [1989](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738639) [1990](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738829) [1991](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739067) [1992](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739360) [1993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739525) [1994](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739880) [1995](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740122) [1996](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740302) [1997](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740497) [1998](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740709) [1999](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740859) [2000](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741047) [2001](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741267) [2002](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741450) [2003](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741604) [2004](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741730) [2005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741915) [2006](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742069) [2007](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742147) [2008](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742282) [2009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742467) [2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742676) [2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742846) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) [2014](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743899) [1950s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743046) [1960s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743240) [1970s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743399) [1980s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743597) [1990s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743803) [2000s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743981) [2010s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744176) [All-time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744358) ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/2 "2015-04-04T17:45:29Z")
Good year for pop, I voted for “Pieces of Me” by Ashlee Simpson, younger sister of Jessica, who has vanished. I also saw JoJo in 2006 got her signature. I liked 2004 sniff sniff. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/3 "2015-04-04T18:02:51Z")
I voted for Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby” – I mean Beyonce’s “Naughty Girl,” which was based on the Summer sample. This is a pretty shallow list when I have to vote for a 30-year-old song. I considered voting for “This Love”, “The Reason”, and even “Numb” before settling on Beyonce. In dead-ass last place, “White Flag” finishes below even “She Will Be Loved” and “Pieces of Me.” Nickelback is so terrible, they were in effect ineligible for dead-ass last: I did not dare to YouTube their song and confirm how much it sucks. (I don’t remember that song, but I unfortunately do remember the three songs that I did list.) **Smapti** is right, it does get a lot better in a few more years. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/4 "2015-04-04T18:13:03Z")
**No Doubt** - _It’s My Life_ OK cover of a great song = win in that year’s lacklustre competition. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/5 "2015-04-04T18:48:06Z")
Maroon 5’s first hit, “This Love,” is still their best. Granted, I’m sick to death of hearing it, but it’s still a good song. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/6 "2015-04-04T18:55:02Z")
Very lackluster year, but I’ve got to give it to No Doubt - it’s a smart choice of cover, and a fair stab at it. Also, Mark Hollis got some money and that’s fine by me because Talk Talk were a great band. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/7 "2015-04-04T19:00:17Z")
The lonely boys for me. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/8 "2015-04-04T19:42:15Z")
Evanescence ahead of Dido. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/9 "2015-04-04T23:30:21Z")
A little surprised I’m the first vote for She Will Be Loved. That is a great song. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/10 "2015-04-05T21:06:39Z")
Sheryl Crow’s song was the only one I recognized, and I think it’s one of her better songs anyway, so I voted for it. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/11 "2015-04-05T21:20:11Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Sheryl Crow’s song was the only one I recognized, and I think it’s one of her better songs anyway, so I voted for it. It may interest you to know it’s a song with a long legacy - it was written in 1965 by [Cat Stevens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBccr-aLu4I), and it first charted in America ten years later in a cover by [Rod Stewart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoitegszoRc). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/12 "2015-04-06T16:24:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It may interest you to know it’s a song with a long legacy - it was written in 1965 by [Cat Stevens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBccr-aLu4I), and it first charted in America ten years later in a cover by [Rod Stewart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoitegszoRc). I’m not sure how I missed the Rod Stewart version, but my Cat Stevens collection only goes back as far as _Mona Bone Jakon_, so I had no idea he’d written it. ---
**Author:** ![TheInimitableMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TheInimitableMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInimitableMaven)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/13 "2015-04-06T17:00:40Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > The lonely boys for me. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/14 "2015-04-06T17:45:42Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Maroon 5’s first hit, “This Love,” is still their best. Granted, I’m sick to death of hearing it, but it’s still a good song. I voted for No Doubt, BUT… the local radio station has a daily “question of the day”. One day it was “There are still 10,000 of these in the United States” and after lots of viewers called in with wrong answers, they said they’d give a hint, and they played Maroon 5’s “Pay Phone” (which was the answer they were looking for). I desperately wanted to call in and give my answer: “what are stupid Maroon 5 songs!” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/15 "2015-04-06T18:03:21Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > the local radio station has a daily “question of the day”. One day it was “There are still 10,000 of these in the United States” and after lots of viewers called in with wrong answers, they said they’d give a hint, and they played Maroon 5’s “Pay Phone” (which was the answer they were looking for). Be patient, you. We’ll get to the 2012 poll soon enough. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/16 "2015-04-06T23:13:36Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > the local radio station has a daily “question of the day”. One day it was “There are still 10,000 of these in the United States” and after lots of viewers called in with wrong answers Anyone guess “maniacs”? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-2004/716812/17 "2015-04-07T01:03:30Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Anyone guess “maniacs”? 😉 We’re not that hip here, but we still have lots of pay phones.